Trailing by 20 points in the 3rd quarter, the Minnesota Timberwolves overthrew the Denver Nuggets on Sunday evening after an unbreathable Game 7 in the Western Conference semi-final. Rudy Gobert (13 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks) contributed in his style… but not only that. The French pivot managed a shot like he almost never attempts.
Gobert, the Wolves’ defensive tower, usually scores most of his baskets on dunks, or at least near the rim. At the start of the 4th quarter, he found himself with the hot potato in his hands, forced to shoot before the end of 24 seconds. The Frenchman was forced to perform a “fadeaway” (a shooting backwards) over the imposing Nikola Jokic. A successful shot at which the Minnesota substitutes exulted.
Asked about this extremely rare basket for Gobert, his teammates Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns had difficulty restraining themselves from laughing at the press conference. “When Rudy made that shot, I was like, ‘Yeah, I think we’ve got them…’ That’s the kind of thing that kills you,” said Timberwolves star Edwards.
In 820 games in his NBA career, Rudy Gobert attempted 18 3-point shots without making a single one. The 32-year-old Saint-Quentinois scored a winning shot last year with the French team, which caused him to be criticized by many teammates.